We were in unit 415 and found the unit excellently appointed with all the supplies needed for a week-long stay - utensils, dishes, cookware, laundry etc. The unit uses sliding doors/pocket doors to separate areas a lot, so it doesn't appear "upscale". On the other hand, as a family who was in Hawaii to play, relax, and spend time outside rather than in, this unit was fine. The units have excellent sound insulation, for we were never bothered at all by noise from any unit around us - either to the sides, above or below.
The kids loved the hot tub and the pool as a change up from the ocean, which was beautiful but full of SHARP coral just steps into the water. As you will undoubtedly have read, there are only two BBQs that work with any sort of regularity or heat - so scope them out early in the evening or plan on a later dinner, after the crowd is done - by 6:30 or so, you should be able to get one of them without waiting or sharing them.
The beach stretches on either side of the resort - good for a solid 45 minutes of walking both ways. You could probably walk all the way into Kihei town if you had an hour or more. ONE PROBLEM with the location is that Sugar Beach is fairly isolated from the rest of Kihei, and if you have someone who does not want to spend all of their time at the beach, there is little else to do or see there. My mother-in-law would have loved to walk around and do some shopping but there is NOTHING close - the town is at least 15 minutes drive from Sugar Beach, certainly too far for most older travellers to walk. When the rest of us were gone to Big Beach or Kahalui, she felt stranded in Sugar Beach.
We found that the staff at the reservation desk in the courtyard office were not at all helpful or friendly after the initial intake meeting - we stayed for 10 days, but when we ran out of supplies like laundry soap etc after 5 days, they were slow or non-responsive to our calls. It took repeated calls and visits to get the fresh supplies ourselves. On the other hand, all of the grounds maintenance staff were extremely friendly and accommodating.
All in all, it was a nice place at a great price, and we would stay there again, but we might also look at something closer to town for a little variety.
- Sugar Beach Resort Maui
- Sugar Beach Maui
- Sugar Beach Resort
- Sugar Beach
